Indiegogo unveils Generosity.com for personal, charitable causes

When companies fight for ways to help you raise money, it seems like a win-win situation. And as Indiegogo launches the new version of what it once called Indiegogo Life, users are now being given new incentives to begin personal fundraising campaigns. Today, the crowdsourcing platform unveiled Generosity.com, “a platform for human goodness.”

While there are certainly other platforms on the market, the newest kid on the block hopes that its nearly nonexistent cost will serve as a major selling point to those looking to raise money for both personal and social causes. “The Generosity community is free of the fees common to most fundraising platforms,” the site claims, “Which means you keep more money for your causes.” Whereas Indiegogo charges a 5 percent platform fee, a 3 percent payment processing fee, and 30 cents per donation, Generosity.com takes zero percent as a platform charge (though it does maintain processing charges).

This is considerably less than rival GoFundMe, which charges a 7.9 percent platform fee in addition to its 30 cents-per-donation processing fee. The decision to do away with much of this nickel and diming, Indiegogo’s co-founder and chief executive told The New York Times, is a “very big change.”

Highlighting the simplicity of the platform, Generosity.com tells its new users that fundraising can happen in just three steps: telling a story, sharing it, and finishing strong. “It all starts with a simple question,” the site claims. “Who do you want to help and why?” Then, using Generosity.com’s “handy sharing tools,” users can “build momentum for [their] cause.” Finally, the platform instructs, “Update your supporters about your progress and thank them for their generosity. Donors want to know they’ve had an impact.”

“We’ve seen the impact that a group of people coming together to support an important social cause can have and our commitment to support nonprofit and personal funding has literally changed lives for the better,” Rubin wrote in an email to Forbes. “We’re now making that easier with Generosity.”

In the seven years of its existence, Rubin’s company has managed to raise a total of $750 million for a vast array of causes. And with this latest reveal, they’re hoping to raise even more.

“Since we launched in 2008, we’ve always urged people raising funds to be completely transparent about their goals and needs,” Rubin noted. “That’s the same if you’re making a tech product or if you’re raising money for a nonprofit or person in need. Doing away with deadlines was something our customers asked for with these types of social impact fundraisers to make it easier to support positive social initiatives.”